ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: kid · last · hide · rule · band · tear · wind · date

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. wind — moving air
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. last — final
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. rule — government
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. kid — child
  12. band — a music group
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. tear — to rip
  16. date — the fruit
  17. last — to go on
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. kid — to tease
  20. last — finally
  21. band — a ring
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. rule — to rule out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com